Russia-+Smykowski,+Soderfelt

Russia

=__LAND__= With approximately 5,592 sq. /miles of land, Russia has many different land forms. European and Asian Russia are separated by the Ural Mountains. In southwest Russia, the Caucasus Mountains hold the highest point in the country, Mt. Elbrus, at 5,663 miles high.

The Northern European Plain runs through central Russia, and is also known as the Russian Plain. It extends from the Ural Mountains to the Western Coast. In Russia, there is more than 10,000 rivers, creating over 7 miles or greater. Some important rivers are the Volga, Dnieper, and the Dvina.

**__Climate&Vegetation__**
Much of Russia experiences extremely cold winters and mild summers. The far north of Russia is tundra where nobody lives. Russia’s largest climate zone is the subarctic. The subarctic holds the largest coniferous forest, also the subarctic experiences most of the coldest seasons in all of Russia. The midlatitude region (humid continental climate type) covers a portion of southern Russia and a large part of eastern Russia.

__POPULATION&CULTURE__
In 2011, the determined population of Russia was141.9 million people. That’s a change of 18% since 1960. Russia has a very rich culture from its etiquette to its holidays and foods. The culture is one of the many reasons people visit and why Russians stay with pride.



**__Early History__**
Russia’s historical culture goes back to around 600 A.D. when the Slavic people settled near the waterways of the Northern European plain. In the 800s a group of Scandinavian warriors settled in the same area and adopted the language and many Slav customs. They eventually formed a group of city-states known as the Kievan Rus. After a while unrest started to spread and infighting began. The Mongols took this chance to attack, many Slav’s fled the invasion and eventually settled on the banks of the Moska River, this was the beginning of Moscow.

__Movements for Change__
Russia gained its independence in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. After seventy-five years of Soviet rule, Russia faced serious challenges becoming a democratic country like the Cold War, but today thrives successfully as a country.

__Natural Resources__
Minerals and Energy: Russia is rich in fossil fuels and holds 16 percent of the world’s coal reserves. Russia is also a leading producer in natural gas, aluminum, gemstones, and platinum- group metals. Hydroelectric power is common in this area due to its large rivers.

__Global Issues__
To maintain peace, Russia has agreed not to sell S-300 missiles to Iran during their war, as well as having the G-8 Global Partnership in place. This is in place to give financial security between the countries and keep the peace by uniting these countries and states.

**__Transportation&Communications__**
Russia’s climate and terrain can make travel hard. But the people of Russia manage to get around by using cars, snowmobiles, trains, motorcycles, boats, and planes. Communication in Russia has gotten tons easier in the major cities with the invention of cellphones. But the rural areas of Russia still have many problems with long distance communications.

**__Environmental Use/Concerns__**
Much of Russia’s land can’t be used for agriculture because of the harsh conditions such as the extreme cold, or the infertile soil. Russia has many environmental concerns such as air pollution caused by major centers of industry, and the large population centers in West Germany. Water pollution is caused by the chemical waste from the factories. There. are also concerns with radiation caused by the nuclear power plants all over Russia.

__ Works Cited __
Boehm, Richard G. //World Geography and Culture//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. // GoEastEurope //. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2013. . Newby, Anna. "Future of the G-8 Global Partnership." //Future of the G-8 Global Partnership//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2013. . // Wikipedia //. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //Wikipedia//. Web. 25 Apr. 2013. .